The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon
A Review By: DQ
Samiah Brooks never thought she would be "that" girl. But a live tweet of a horrific date just revealed the painful truth: She's been catfished by a three-timing jerk of a boyfriend. Suddenly, Samiah - along with his two other "girlfriends", London and Taylor - have gone viral online. Now, the three new besties are making a pact to spend the next six months investing in themselves. No men and no dating. For once, Samiah is putting herself first, and that includes finally developing the app she's always dreamed of creating. Which is the exact moment she meets the deliciously sexy Daniel Collins at work. What are the chances? But is Daniel really boyfriend material, or is he maybe just a little too good to be true?
Review Notes:
Audio Book Publication Year: 2020
An installment in a Series? Yes
Narrator (s): Je Nie Fleming
The Boyfriend Project starts off with the heroine Samiah Brooks getting ready for a late night date. It is during her getting ready that she learns from her sister who is on Twitter... that the guy she was supposed to go out with is on a date with another woman. She decides to show up and see for herself. I think that takes dedication. I would have ghosted at that point but what fun would that be? There is no doubt about it. That meal can only be found at one local eatery, and given the other information the lady has tweeted, the man on that date can only be Samiah’s boyfriend. Samiah's arrival is a welcome distraction for Taylor and as the two bond over their hatred of “Craig” (probably not his real name) but they are then joined by London, a third lady, also being catfished. Things obviously don't work out for Craig when the 3 ladies bond and turn on him... Let me tell you how fun it was to see that. Usually, the women are in some competition to make themselves available for the man doing wrong. But I was glad that these women saw their value and kicked him to curb. In the ensuing evening... they make a pact. They decide to spend the next six months investing in themselves. No men and no dating.” Problem: Samiah becomes a viral sensation... well, they all do.
Enter Daniel Collins. He is the newest hire at Samiah's place of work. (Now I usually don't get involved with people that I work with... So there were red flags abound...) But the story was intriguing from the very beginning. Daniel Collins is a biracial man (Korean-American and African-American), who is an undercover agent for FinCen (Financial Intelligence Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, Treasury Department). His job is to infiltrate suspect corporations and figure out how they are committing their money laundering schemes. He needs to find the culprits and get into the security of the company. He doesn't plan on getting close to anyone and there is even a scene where he has to distance himself from a woman that is hitting on him hard. But the attraction between him and Samiah is evident from the very beginning.
I really enjoyed the Black couple working in the tech industry. Both are super smart tech developers and great at what they do. I love the fact that Samiah highlights some of the struggles that go on, particularly for Black women. Daniel acknowledges that he may not have had the same experiences, but that didn't make hers any less valid. Samiah outlines how she has to work harder than her colleagues to get the same level of success, and how her teachers often discouraged her from being too ambitious. She also talks about how she feels the pressure not to screw up any opportunities for other Black women who’ll be coming in after her and how important it is for her to give young Black girls the opportunity to see her at work and know that they can aspire to something similar. I loved everything about her and really understood her journey.
Daniel and Samiah are two peas in the same pod. Daniel has also worked hard to get where he is and is concerned about how dating someone at the company he’s investigating will affect his position. He’s too strongly attracted to Samiah to walk away from her but his job is not conducive to romance. And since her incident with Craig... she is not especially trusting. How will things play out when she figures out that he has not been entirely truthful?
The audio performance was great. I wasn't sure how this was going to come together, but it was a super cute and fun read. Both characters are well fleshed out and super intelligent. All pluses for me.
Reading Recommendation? Yes!
Rating: 5 (I need another one!)
Content Warnings? None
